Chapter 43. [First Update] There were only the two of them. ...
He Yan has bought birthday cakes for many people across his two lifetimes, including relatives, friends, and business partners, but he has never bought one for himself.
Since he could remember, he had owned very few cakes. Through the flickering candlelight, he stared intently at Wen Xue, his gaze focused. Just as the candle was almost half burned down, he spoke in a low voice, "Thank you."
"You can blow out the candles now," she reminded them.
Both she and He Yan have the same life experience: losing their parents at a very young age. It's no exaggeration to say that they have experienced the full spectrum of human nature.
Therefore, she only urged him to blow out the candles, without mentioning the boring matter of making a wish.
"Go ahead and brag," he said calmly.
Wen Xue wasn't disappointed; the result was much better than she had expected. The end of the fuse didn't explode, and although it wasn't a series of loud fireworks, it was at least a sparkler.
She nodded with a smile. She had heard that it was more auspicious to blow out a candle in one breath. Since her lung capacity was not large, she tried her best to inhale and then blow out the candle.
He Yan saw that her nose was almost covered in cream, but he didn't think much of it. He reached out his finger and pushed her forehead, and said with a smile, "Be careful."
Wen Xue looked up at him, her eyelashes trembling slightly. "What?"
After recovering from an illness, she became completely accustomed to and accepted his touch.
"It's nothing." He withdrew his hand and looked at the beautiful cake. "Get ready, I'll take you out to eat."
"No, I'm the one taking you out to eat," she corrected with a smile. "Today is your birthday, so I'll make the arrangements."
This time, He Yan didn't refuse. He took the two gifts back to the next room, put the watch box in his suitcase, and put the lighter in his pocket. He studied it carefully for a while, with a faint smile on his face.
Wenxue repackaged the cake, tied a bow on it, picked it up, and walked out of the room with her bag on her back.
He Yan was already waiting for her in the corridor.
He leaned against the wall, head down, texting, letting out a short laugh, looking relaxed.
Hearing her footsteps, he put away his phone and casually said, "I was just texting Lao Wu."
"oh."
She could guess. But seeing the ease in his eyes when he texted, she couldn't help but wonder what he was like when he texted her.
The two took the elevator downstairs and walked out of the hotel lobby. The sky was a beautiful blue, spring had arrived, and the scenery was breathtaking. Wen Xuehua had spent most of the day researching restaurants, and after much deliberation, considering convenience, they went to a creative restaurant with a nice ambiance in the shopping mall across from the hotel.
After they were seated, Wen Xue cut a piece of cake and handed it to him, saying, "Eat your cake first."
He Yan silently took the fork, frowned, and swallowed the cream bite by bite, as if he were enduring torture.
Wen Xue rested her chin on her hands as she looked at him, then quickly lowered her head to hide her smile, "You have to finish eating."
Actually, she didn't even need to say those three words. Every time she gave him something cloyingly sweet, he didn't finish it. Chocolate, he thought indifferently, "Oh right, and that cup of hot cocoa that almost killed him."
"Happy birthday," she whispered.
"You already said that."
“I forgot,” she said, mimicking his tone.
He glanced at her for a few seconds, smiled, and continued to eat his birthday cake with a look of utter despair. A message popped up on his phone. As he unlocked it, a vague thought flashed through his mind. He looked thoughtfully at the person eating cake with a smile on their face and asked, "Did you set a password for me just for today?"
Wen Xue was happily eating cake and drinking juice when she heard this and almost choked. "..."
"Report your birthday to me."
He Yan didn't check the messages, but instead awkwardly found the password change interface.
Wen Xue felt inexplicably embarrassed.
She celebrated his birthday, not so that he would celebrate hers in return.
"explain."
"..." She took a sip of juice to calm herself, her voice soft and muffled, "December 20th..."
He Yan glanced at her and operated his phone with one hand. Wen Xue thought he would at most add a label to the phone calendar or set an alarm, but from an angle she couldn't see, he directly changed the password to 1220.
After dinner, Wenxue went to the restroom. The mall was crowded during the holiday, and the line almost stretched outside the restroom. She peeked out and texted him: "Probably going to be a long wait."
Queues for the restroom? Unheard of.
He Yan replied with an "okay," and after looking around, decided to go to the smoking area not far from the restroom.
He reached into his pocket, pulled out a lighter, remembered what he had said more than an hour ago, hesitated for half a second, then with a flick of his finger, put the lighter back in his palm and stopped smoking.
As he straightened up to head elsewhere, a young man walked over, a cigarette butt dangling from his lips. "Hey buddy, can I borrow a light?"
He Yan hummed in agreement and was about to pop open the lighter cap when his gaze shifted. He put the gift back in his pocket, then took out a plastic lighter with the barbecue restaurant's address printed on it and lit a cigarette for the guy who had asked for a light, who was completely bewildered by his actions.
What are you doing?
"Thanks, bro."
"polite."
As dusk settled, the early April night breeze carried a hint of warmth, not cold at all against their faces. Wen Xue and He Yan strolled slowly across the street back to their hotel. This was a special day, so special that when she returned to her room, showered, and stood before the floor-to-ceiling window overlooking the city, her hair still wet and draped over her shoulders, she didn't even bother to dry it before snapping a picture with her phone and posting a status update that only she could see—
Happy Birthday, He Yan! [cake]
She also saw the last post she made, which was before the Lunar New Year, about smoking.
After thinking for a moment, she smiled and posted another message: 【He Yan has decided to quit smoking [clapping][spinning]】
late at night.
In the next room, He Yan didn't turn on the light, but only drew back the curtains. Using the floodlights from the city outside, he casually leaned against the headboard, flicking a metal lighter from his left hand to his right and then back to his left, turning it on and off, casting a shadow on his high, straight nose.
He rubbed it with his rough fingertips.
I love it so much I can't put it down.
-
The following morning, He Yan drove Wen Xue for more than two hours back to Haicheng.
When they arrived, it was lunchtime, so the two of them randomly found a restaurant to have lunch and then went to a candle shop to buy a lot of incense, candles, paper money for the dead, and a few bunches of chrysanthemums.
Haicheng Cemetery is always bustling with activity during the Qingming Festival.
He Heng's grave is relatively new; it's not very close to his parents' graves. He Yan, not wanting to disturb Wen Xue and her brother's heart-to-heart talk, led her to the grave. After quickly glancing at his brother's smiling face on the tombstone, he whispered, "I'm going to my parents' grave. I'll come back later."
Wen Xue nodded repeatedly, then, remembering something, hurriedly called out to him, "He Yan!"
He Yan, who had taken a few steps, turned around upon hearing the voice. "What is it?"
"You must wait until the incense and candles are completely extinguished before you leave," she gently instructed. "It's safer that way."
He Yan smiled helplessly.
Doesn't she know how many years older he is than her?
As his footsteps faded into the distance, Wen Xue composed herself before slowly turning her gaze to the photograph on the tombstone. Her breath caught in her throat, and a slight yet persistent pain tugged at a corner of her heart, as if a thin thread were pulling at it.
He Heng died unexpectedly; no one could have imagined that he would die so suddenly at the age of twenty.
Unlike many deceased people, he did not have his funeral photo taken before he passed away.
This photo was taken when she accompanied him to take his ID photo. She remembered that the weather was fine that day, but it started raining heavily without warning. He opened his coat and let her hide under it. The two of them rushed through the rain together. When they arrived at the photo studio, he was soaked to the bone and looked very disheveled.
She laughed uncontrollably, took out a tissue from her bag, and stood on tiptoe to wipe the rain off his face.
He stared at her intently. There were other people in the photo studio, making a lot of noise. Suddenly, he said, "I love you."
Wen Xue felt a lump in her throat, making it hard to breathe. She turned her head away, ignoring the dirt, trying to find something to do to distract herself from her bitter mood. She mechanically removed the weeds and traces of the offerings left behind, working on them for a while. Once her emotions had calmed down a bit, she prepared to find a lighter to light the incense and candles when she felt a shadow fall over her. Thinking it was He Yan returning, she called out, "You—"
She looked up and met the unfamiliar face of the person who approached her; the forced smile froze.
The person who came was a middle-aged woman over forty years old.
The moment their eyes met, Wen Xue could barely contain her terrible emotions. She took a deep breath, and facing the other person's apologetic expression, she spoke, her voice trembling with tension, "Please... leave."
"Miss Wen, let me take a look..."
"Please leave," Wen Xue said softly. "Okay?"
After paying respects to his parents and other relatives, He Yan rushed back. Standing a few meters away from him, he could vaguely see Wen Xue's figure. She was looking down, busy with something. He walked over, a hint of doubt passing through his mind. Usually, she would recognize his footsteps even before he got close. What was going on today?
It wasn't until he got to her side that he noticed her body was trembling slightly as she endured the pain.
And her tears, one by one, falling onto the stone slab.
His expression hardened, and he asked in a deep voice, "What's wrong?"
Wen Xue belatedly realized what was happening, and hurriedly looked up, tears streaming down her cheeks. "I..."
He Yan didn't care about anything else. He grabbed her, wrapped his arm around her, and said coldly, "Let's go."
If he had known that visiting the cemetery would cause her so much grief, he would never have left. He didn't want her to return to the state she was in during winter, as if she might wither and collapse at any moment. For him now, her being alive was more important.
"It's not what you think!" she explained, her voice choked with emotion.
"Go out first." He looked straight ahead, not even glancing at her, and said in an unquestionable tone.
He was already tall and strong, so he easily helped her down the steps. Before long, they were out of the cemetery. There were many people there today, and the area was full of cars. They walked non-stop, and the wind dried the tears on Wenxue's face.
After getting into the car, He Yan took a bottle of mineral water from the back seat with a cold expression, and handed it to her with a somewhat rough movement, saying, "Have some water."
He thought it was his mistake.
For him, He Heng had been gone for more than eight years, so he could remain calm when facing the photo on the tombstone.
She's having a hard time.
After all, at this time last year, He Heng was still by her side.
It was his fault.
After taking a few sips, Wen Xue spoke, still sobbing, her throat tight, "Just now... that child's mother came."
She couldn't stand it.
She really couldn't bear to see them, especially the child.
Rationally, she knew they hadn't done anything wrong; they felt incredibly guilty yet incredibly grateful.
But emotionally, their guilt or gratitude felt like a dull knife cutting into her heart. She never wanted to see them again. Was that too much to ask?
He Yan froze slightly, then understood.
If there is anyone in this world who truly understands Wen Xue's feelings at this moment, it is only him.
"I regret it so much!" Her words were squeezed out of her throat, like a sharp knife cutting through it, bleeding profusely. "That day, that night, he texted me saying he was worried I had no appetite and was going to buy me some iced porridge, but I didn't see it—"
She bit her lower lip hard, tears welling up in her eyes. "If I had seen it, if I had stopped him from leaving, would he not have taken that road, and would he not have..."
Wenxue never mentioned these words to anyone else.
From the night she received the devastating news until today, she has been thinking about "what if" every single day.
He Yan fell silent.
He leaned back, wearily closed his eyes, refusing to look at her tears, but his hands on the steering wheel tightened, the veins bulging.
Inside the car, Wen Xue's crying gradually subsided until the original silence was restored. Only then did He Yan open his eyes, slowly exhale, and turn his head to look at her in the passenger seat.
Wenxue cried herself to sleep. She hadn't cried like this since the funeral. She had trouble sleeping in unfamiliar surroundings, and yesterday, on her birthday, she was inexplicably excited. She tossed and turned in the comfortable hotel bed for a long time before finally falling asleep. The journey had already taken its toll, and now that her tears had dried up and all her emotions were exhausted, and with someone she trusted by her side, she finally fell asleep.
He Yan started the car engine.
He leaned closer to her, reached over the armrest, stretched out his long arm, and pulled the seatbelt to fasten it for her. The noise might have disturbed her, as her delicate eyebrows furrowed slightly. He calmly gazed at her face and her tear-streaked eyelashes, then reached out and gently stroked her forehead.
The next second, she became quiet again.
The city wasn't too big or too small, so He Yan didn't need a navigation map; he drove at a steady speed. Wen Xue slept soundly and deeply, not waking up even when the car was bumped.
…
When Wen Xue woke up, it was almost dark. She was wearing a coat and enveloped in a familiar scent.
The car was dimly lit. She tilted her head slightly. He Yan, who was in the driver's seat, had one hand on the steering wheel and the other on his phone. Noticing her gaze, he looked at her in the dim light of his phone screen. After a long silence, his voice was a little hoarse, "Are you hungry?"
Wen Xue felt a desire to escape.
She didn't want anyone to see her hysterical side, especially him; she wanted him to know that she was getting better.
"...I'm not hungry."
He cried his heart out, filling a car with tissues to wipe his tears and snot, and now he feels ashamed. He Yan chuckled to himself.
"Okay, get off with me."
Wen Xue finally had a chance to look out the car window. She felt that the place looked familiar. She tried to remember as she unbuckled her seatbelt and got out of the car.
As she got out of the car, the surroundings became clearer. She quickly caught up with He Yan and saw him easily find the key in a hidden corner. After opening the roller shutter door, she exclaimed in surprise, "You—"
She instinctively took a few steps back and finally saw the rickety sign hanging on the door.
Flying Ice Rink.
Splash—
He Yan suddenly pushed the roller door up, revealing an empty space inside, with an echo coming from within.
"Come in."
He went inside with practiced ease, found the power switch, and quickly turned on all the lights in the skating rink, instantly transforming the pitch-black area into a dazzling display of colorful lights.
Wen Xue looked around and quickly slipped inside like a thief, still timid. "I've been here before."
He Yan led her to change her shoes, and upon hearing this, he looked at her with a puzzled expression, pointing to the large characters painted on the wall that read "Minors are prohibited from entering."
She followed closely behind him, explaining in a low voice, "He Heng brought me here before, and he said he would teach me to ice skate."
"..." He Yan remained silent, his lips twitching. This brat has some nerve, daring to secretly use his connections and influence to pursue a girl. "This is a shop opened by my friend. Business hasn't been good these past two years, so it's only open for a short time during winter and summer vacations, and closed on other days."
Wen Xue had only come twice in total. She sat to the side and changed her shoes rather awkwardly.
Seeing her clumsy movements, He Yan couldn't bear to watch any longer. He walked over, squatted down in front of her, and used his large hands to support her calves, deftly fastening her roller skates.
Her gaze froze.
For a moment, she thought she had gone back to a few years ago, back to a very naive age.
At that time, she was very nervous. It was her first time ice skating, and she was unfamiliar with many things. Just when she was so anxious that her palms were sweating, He Heng squatted down to help her put on her shoes, just like He Yan does now.
Is this appropriate?
Is this appropriate?
The two voices seemed to reach her eardrums at the same time.
One is clear and refreshing, the other is deep and resonant.
"It suits you perfectly." She hesitated for a few seconds, then nodded slightly and replied.
"Come on, hold onto my arm." He Yan helped her stand up with a little force and asked, "Did he teach you?"
Wen Xue snapped out of her daze, nodding and then shaking her head. "A little bit. I can only slide slowly while holding onto the railing."
"Okay, I'll teach you the rest."
"Huh? Ah!!"
Wen Xue's exclamation echoed throughout the arena. Once she put on her skates and entered the rink, it was as if her body was no longer under her control. She went from holding onto He Yan's outstretched arm to gripping it tightly. The whistling wind blew through her hair. Sensing that he was about to let go, she shouted, "He Yan!!"
He Yan chuckled to himself.
Calling someone by their name won't work in this situation.
One lap, two laps, three laps. With his hands-on guidance, she gradually found her balance in the wind and could skate very well without his help.
The huge venue now only has the two of them.
She was skating ahead, but every time she turned around, she saw him following behind.
This feeling of security is even stronger than when I was sixteen.
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